Building structure



R.T.STELLE Jan. 31, 1967 BUILDING STRUCTURE Filed Oct. 5, 1963 INVENTOR v RussELL'T STELLE BY fwa WSMH ZI/M AHar g/s Fig. 3.

United States Patent Ofifice 3,300,925 BUILDING STRUCTURE Russell '1. Stelle, 6 N. Walnut St, Brazii, 1nd. 47834 Filed Oct. 3, 1963, Ser. No. 313,599 2 Claims. (Cl. 52-293) The present invention relates to building construction.

It is the present practice to construct certain types of buildings with sheet steel walls which normally rest on a conventional concrete footing. This type of construction has resulted in rusting of the sheet steel walls adjacent the foundation. Such rusting frequently permits water to seep into the building. Also after the sheet steel has rusted out, the resultant openings in the wall permit the entry into the building of insects and rodents. Consequently, one object of the present invention is to provide a wall construction less susceptible to rusting out than presently available wall construction.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a wall construction of the above type arranged to prevent water from collecting around the metal yet providing an attractive, sturdy construction.

Related objects and advantages will become apparent as the description proceeds.

One embodiment of the present invention might include a wall construction comprising a concrete block wall, a vertically ribbed sheet steel member, said concrete block wall including an upper tier of concrete blocks, the blocks of said upper tier being formed with projections which correspond in shape and are aligned with the ribs of said sheet steel member, the blocks of said upper tier having flat portions between said projections which correspond in shape to and are aligned with the portions of said sheet steel member between said ribs, a framework supported on said concrete block wall, said sheet steel member being fixed to said framework.

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of building construction incorporating the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now in particular to the drawings, there is illustrated a building construction which includes wall 10, made up of a plurality of concrete blocks 11, which are laid in the usual manner with each tier staggered relative to the tiers next above and next below. Each of the concrete blocks 11 has the conventional rectangular configuration and might also incorporate the usual vertically extending apertures (not shown) therethrough.

An uppermost tier 12 of blocks 13 is provided, said blocks 13 having projections 15 extending from the outside surface thereof. The projections 15 have the same outward configuration as ribs 16 and are aligned and flush with the ribs 16 in sheet steel members 17 supported above the uppermost tier 12. Referring to FIG. 2, the sheet steel members 17 are secured to a framework 20, which includes vertically extending steel girders 21. The steel girders are fixed to the concrete blocks 13 in conventional manner, such as, for example, by screws threaded into lead seated in the concrete or in similar fashion.

It will be noted that the projections 15 are tapered at 25 and at 26. The angle of taper at 25 is not critical and may be varied to achieve the results desired. When the sheet Patented Jan. 31, 1967 steel members are positioned as shown in FIG. 2, the taper of the surface 25 and the ribs 16 define an opening 27 which can be used to permit drainage of any water or condensation that might form at the point of connection of the framework and the blocks 13. On the other hand, the opening 27 does permit a certain amount of passage of air and in cold climates may preferably be reduced in size by either making the taper 25 less or by spacing the sheet steel member 17 downwardly from the position shown in FIG. 2. Between the ribs 16, the sheet steel member 17 is formed with fiat portions 30 which are in alignment with the recessed portions 31 of the blocks 13 and are also in alignment with the outside surfaces 32 of the blocks 11.

From the above description, it will be evident that the present invention provides an improved wall construction arranged to prevent water from collecting around the metal, yet providing an attractive, sturdy construction. It will also be evident that the present invention provides a wall construction which is less susceptible to rusting out than presently available wall construction.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, the same is to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive in character, it being understood that only the preferred embodiment has been shown and described and that all changes and modifications that come within the spirit of the invention and the scope of the claims are also desired to be protected.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a building construction including a wall of a plurality of substantially rectangular concrete blocks having each tier staggered to the tiers next below, a steel frame seated on an upper tier of blocks and a plurality of sheet steel members secured to said framework, said steel sheet members being ribbed, the improvement comprising: an uppermost tier of blocks having projections extending from the outside surface thereof, said projections having the same outward configuration as said ribs in said sheet steel members, said projections being aligned with and flush with said ribs in said sheet steel members, said projections being tapered at the upper and lower end thereof so that when a rib of a sheet steel member is aligned with a corresponding projection of a block, said taper of said upper end defines an opening with said rib of said steel sheet member to permit drainage of water from the point of connection between said steel framework and said blocks.

2. In a building construction as defined in claim 1, an uppermost tier of blocks wherein the flat portions between the ribs of said sheet steel members are aligned with the recessed portions between said projections of said uppermost tier of blocks and wherein said flat portions are in alignment with the outer surfaces of said substantially rectangular concrete blocks.

References Cited by the Examiner v UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 159,255 7/1950 Decker et al 52-316 X 320,757 6/1885 Chesebro 52-537 2,019,707 11/1935 Jenkins 52-293 X 2,193,550 3/1940 Coe 52-303 X 2,270,846 1/1942 Hines 52-303 X HARRISON R. MOSELEY, Primary Examiner.

P. C. KANNAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A BUILDING CONSTRUCTION INCLUDING A WALL OF A PLURALITY OF SUBSTANTIALLY RECTANGULAR CONCRETE BLOCKS HAVING EACH TIER STAGGERED TO THE TIERS NEXT BELOW, A STEEL FRAME SEATED ON AN UPPER TIER OF BLOCKS AND A PLURALITY OF SHEET STEEL MEMBERS SECURED TO SAID FRAMEWORK, SAID STEEL SHEET MEMBERS BEING RIBBED, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING: AN UPPERMOST TIER OF BLOCKS HAVING PROJECTIONS EXTENDING FROM THE OUTSIDE SURFACE THEREOF, SAID PROJECTION HAVING THE SAME OUTWARD CONFIGURATION AS SAID RIBS IN SAID SHEET STEEL MEMBERS, SAID PROJECTIONS BEING ALIGNED WITH AND FLUSH WITH SAID RIBS IN SAID SHEET STEEL MEMBERS, SAID PROJECTIONS BEING TAPERED AT THE UPPER AND LOWER END THEREOF SO THAT WHEN A RIB OF A SHEET STEEL MEMBER IS ALIGNED WITH A CORRESPONDING PROJECTION OF A BLOCK, SAID TAPER OF SAID UPPER AND DEFINES AN OPENING WITH SAID RIB OF SAID STEEL SHEET MEMBER TO PERMIT DRAINAGE OF WATER FROM THE POINT OF CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID STEEL FRAMEWORK AND SAID BLOCKS. 